The Amarillo Pioneer

Amarillo's only free online newspaper. Established in 2016, we work to bring you local news that is unbiased and honest.

Jul 7 What is the Future for the Liberty Theater?

The historic Liberty Theater sits on 4th Avenue and holds a long and storied history inside of its walls. The theater was built in 1921 and sits next to an adjoining building that was built in the 1950's. The buildings have long been thought to be a possible location for restoration but have not been put into practice.

In 2015, Downtown Amarillo, Inc. announced its plans to revitalize the building with the support of donors. The organization planned to renovate the buildings for use and had planned the development of greenspace next to the buildings. The City of Amarillo, which owns the property, placed a parking lot on top of the proposed greenspace in 2015. After that, discussion of the theater went quiet.

In 2016, the City of Amarillo put the Liberty Theater in Proposition 4 of the municipal bond election. The proposition would have allocated $5,005,800 toward the project. Voters rejected $22,247,485 package on November 8, 2016.

Today, the City's public communications officer, Jesse Patton, says that the future is uncertain for the historic theater.

"Funding would need to become available for us to move forward," Patton said, "Plans are on hold until funding can become available."

No input on the future of the theater was given by Mayor Ginger Nelson, as she has previously refused to comment on stories by the Amarillo Pioneer.

As plans are on hold, many questions remain regarding the future of the Liberty Theater.